About Jean Arp

A pioneer of abstract art, Jean (aka Hans) Arp was instrumental in founding the Dada movement and participated actively in Surrealism and Constructivism. In his collages, reliefs, and sculptures, Arp often incorporated waste material such as discarded paper and fabric, and embraced chance and spontaneity as integral components of the artistic process. In Collage with Squares Arranged According to the Laws of Chance (1916), for example, Arp explored the potential for unique compositional relationships that result from inadvertent arrangement of collage elements. Arp’s articulation of biomorphic forms, inspired by organic material and the human figure, was simultaneously explored by Joan Miró and proved to be hugely influential to later 20th-century abstract artists.